Bail-holding means



U. DIETZ.

RAIL HOLDING MEANS. APPLICATION FILED FEB.26. 19x9.

Patented June 17, 1919.

URIAI-I DIETZ, OF BANGOR, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-HOLDING MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1'7, 1919.

Application filed February 26, 1919. Serial N 0. 279,269.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, URIAH Drnrz, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Bangor. in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Rail-Holding Means, of which the fol lowing is a specification. v

This invention relates to improvements in rail holding means for railway tracks, the object of the invention being to provide a reliable device for preventing the spreading of the rails and which is entirely independent of the ties.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device of this character which can be readily removed when desired and which is comparatively simple in construction and operation, economical to manufacture and very efficient in use.

lVith these and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of construction and combination of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section and broken away to more clearly show the construction of certain cooperating parts, and illustrating the device applied to a pair of railway rails, the latter being shown in section; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my improved rail holding device.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts in the figures of the drawings.

In the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, 2 and 3 designate a pair of members each having one end turned upward and inward and so formed as to provide a jaw 4: for gripping the flange of the rail, as shown in Fig. 1. The member 2 has a portion 5 thereof of tubular formation and provided with a collar 6, which may be formed integral therewith or secured thereto in any suitable manner, the collar being provided with a pair of upstanding perforated ears 7 forthe reception of a pin 8 by means of which an arm 9 is'pivotally mounted between said ears, the arm being provided with an elongated slot 10 through which the pin passes. The pin 8 may be secured against withdrawal from the ears bymeans of a cotter pin as shown, or in any other suitable manner. The tubular portion 5 of the member 2 is provided near the end' thereof with a slot 11 extending radially throughits walls, and through which slot is adapted to be passed a hook member 12 carried by the arm 9, and which hook may be formed integral with the arm or secured thereto in any preferred manner.

The member 3 is provided with a reduced cylindrical portion 13 adapted to snugly lit the opening in the tubular portion 5 of the member 2, the portion 13 having a radial slot 14 therein which registers with the slots 11 in the wall of said tubular member when the members are in rail-holding position, such slots being so formed as to provide just sufficient play to permit the hook member 12 to pass through when the arm 9 is swung on its pivot.

It is believed that the operation of the device will be clearly understood from the foregoing. The collar 6 is placed on the member 2 at such a point as to provide the proper distance between the jaws 4 when the members 2 and 3 are locked together in the manner shown in Fig. 1, with the hook 12 extending through the slots in the members 5 and 13. The member 2 is placed with its jaws in engagement with one rail in the manner shown, and the cylindrical portion 13 of the member 3 is inserted into the tubular portion 5 of the member 2 and pushed inwardly until the jaw of the member 3 grips the flange of the other rail. When in this position the arm 9 is swung on its pivot and its hook 12 inserted into the slots in the walls of the tubular and cylindrical portions of the members 2 and 3 and secured against withdrawal by means of a cotter pin 15 or in any other suitable manner.

While I have described in detail the structure herein illustrated, I do not desire to limit my invention to the precise features of construction shown, as I am aware that many mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a pair of members provided with rail-engaging jaws and one slidable with relation to the other, and an arm pivotally carried by one of said members and adapted to engage the other for locking the j awsin rail holdlng posltion.

2. A device of the class described, com' the other for locking the jaws in rai1holding position.

3. A device ofthe class described, comprising a member provided at one end with a rail-engaging jaw and at its opposite end with a tubular portion, a second member provided at one end with a rail-engaging jaw and at its opposite end with a cylindrical portion adapted to slide within said tubular portion of the first member, and means pivotally connected with one of said members and adapted to engage the tubular and cylindrical portions of the members for looking said cylindrial portion within said tubular portion. 7

4. A device of the class described, comprising a member provided at one end with a rail-engaging jaw and at its opposite end with a tubular portion, a second member provided at one end with a rail-engaging jaw and at its opposite end with a cylindrical portion adapted to slide within said tubular portion of the first member, said cylin- A dricaland tubular portions being provided with registering slots, and a pivoted arm carried by one of said members and having a hook adapted to pass through said slots for locking the cylindrical portion within the tubular portion. 7

5. A device of the class described, comprising a member provided at one end with a rail-engaging jaw and at its opposite end with a tubular portion, asecond member provided at one end with a ,rail'engaging jaw and at its opposite endwith a cylindrical portion adapted to slide within said tubular portion of the first member, said cylindrical and tubular portions being provided with registering slots, a collar fixed to said first member and provided with a pair of perforated ears, and an arm pivotally mounted between said ears and having a hook adapted to pass through said slots for locking said cylindricalportion within said tubular portion.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

I URIAH DIETZ.

WVitnesses: A I

WILLIAM J SPRY, JOHN WV. SHUMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D; G. 

